Dylan had been making a reasonable name for himself in the folk community around NYC s Greenwich Village since his arrival in the city, and had achieved good reviews playing in the area s coffee bars and folk cellars, most notably from Robert Shelton of the New York Times. The first seven songs from this performance came into circulation among collectors some years ago. Five additional songs appeared in December 2004 and a further two ( Talking Merchant Marine and Talking New York ) turned up in May 2008. It is generally believed that no other songs from this earliest of Dylan performances are in existence anywhere. All of the available material has been pulled together for this remarkable release. With a track list comprising 4 Dylan originals, plus a further two Dylan arrangements of traditional tunes, 2 Woody Guthrie songs plus a mixture of other traditionals and folk and blues standards, the historical value alone of this recording, available legitimately now for the first time, is reason enough for its release. However, the show is enormously enjoyable and the quality of the recording remarkably good considering the circumstances and its age. Certainly during the actual songs, the sound remains relatively consistent. Interestingly, the drops in volume that occur between certain numbers were unavoidable as, being a rather informal event, Bob would be shuffling about for lyrics, harmonicas in different keys and other paraphernalia while addressing the gathering, and in doing so moving away the vocal mic, which was connected via a fairly primitive 2 channel mixer to the PA.